Wolves and Men

The wolf lowered herself and dug out a small hole and disappeared under the briars and thorns. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. The good thing is nobody will think to look for me under there. The bad thing I might lose a pint of blood or two just getting in and out of that hole.

The wolf did not come back out. Sighing he turned around and lowered himself onto his butt. Being careful not jostle his foot and keep it as stationary as possible he scooted backward towards the brambles. He was lifting his whole body with his arms and using his good left leg he pushed himself backwards. When he was close to the hole he laid back and pushed himself under the thorns with his left leg.

The thorns passed over him scraping his vest and face. He turned his head to protect his eyes and face. It was a tight space but he was able to keep moving using his leg and hands to slowly propel himself through the passage way. The thorns raised themselves and soon he was able to bend his leg more and he didn’t have to keep his head turned. The tunnel that he was traveling was expanding while the brambles above him grew denser.

This place was turning out to be pretty cool. As he moved deeper in the briar patch, he found that he had more and more room to maneuver his body. The pain in his side and ankle were still there but they were ebbing and he was certain that after a good night’s sleep both the cramp in his side and his tender ankle would be back to normal by sunrise.

It had become darker in the briars and he knew that the sun had set. As he moved along, the tunnel of briars opened up to become a clearing. He twisted himself around and found that the wolf was there watching him. There was enough room here for her to sit up straight. The ceiling of thorns was a good three to four feet off the ground and he was able to sit up as well without fear of cutting himself.

He pulled his right leg to himself and started massaging his hurt ankle. The pain was not nearly as intense as it had been but it was still too painful to walk. The wolf lowered her head toward his injury and sniffed at his ankle. She moved closer to the injury sniffing while she neared his bare skin. With his hand massaging his ankle he watched as the wolf got closer to his foot. Sometimes she acts like a domesticated pet. But he knew better than to completely lower his guard around her. Even so he let her get closer to his foot. She lunged forward and snapped at his leg just above his hurt ankle.

He yelled in surprise. It hadn’t hurt, not really, but he was not expecting her to do that. He let go of his foot and slapped at her. “What the hell did you do that for?” The she-wolf ducked away from the slap and backed away from him till her back was up against a wall of thorns. He moved toward her to make sure he could get some satisfaction. He was not going to let a wolf or anything else get away with snapping at him.

As he tried to maneuver his body toward the wolf, he noticed that the pain coming from his ankle had dissipated. He stopped and reached for his foot. He tucked his right leg toward him and looked at the small red mark that the wolf had left. There wasn’t even a bite mark, just some red irritation that would fade in a few minutes. He massaged his ankle and found that the pain was almost entirely gone. He looked at the wolf in amazement.

“How did you do that?”

The she-wolf looked at him. She sat on her haunches, every inch of her a proud predator. She looked like an enforcer that had just returned home from some great battle after killing many people. Her eyes didn’t waver from his. It was neither a look of submission, but it wasn’t a challenge either. She just sat there watching him.

He looked back down at his foot and made it rotate. There was almost no pain whatsoever. He placed his foot down on the ground and using his arms for balance he lifted his body off the ground. With his back parallel to the ground and his foot bearing his weight he stretched out his back and tested his ankle. His foot supported him with little problem. He lowered his body back down on the ground. He looked up into the thorns overhead. They were so dense that he couldn’t see the sky or the forest above him. He took a deep breath and rolled over onto his stomach. He lifted his body and swung his legs out under him and landed in a sitting position facing the wolf.

“I’m sorry I slapped at you.” The wolf sat there looking at him making no movement toward, or away from him. “You surprised me. I didn’t know you were trying to help me. All I knew is that a, no offense, a wild animal had just bitten me for no reason.”

The wolf cocked her head to the side as he said ‘wild animal’. She turned away from him and started digging in the ground. She moved the disturbed soil and retrieved the buried piece of denim that she had carried over the last few days. She took the piece of fabric in her mouth. She walked toward him and dropped the denim at his feet. He looked at her and she backed away from him. He picked up the faded, moist piece of blue fabric and held it in his hands. “I don’t understand.” He was troubled by the gesture. The wolf lay down on her stomach. His brow furrowed as he studied the fabric and his companion. He looked from one then the other. Did I insult you in some way? Did wolves get insulted? She certainly seemed to be pissed off at him.